In a moment of rest after entering Nodden Tor, Rask address Alexis and the rest of the group, but mostly Alexis.
“What IS a Tear of Avv? More than the rain that falls on our crops, shepherded by Oo-rin?
“Sheyeeni said her true boss had two? Hadonis said some Nalcir tribesmen betrayed him and may still hold it?”
Before setting out on the second day, Rask approaches Alexis and the rest of the group.
“What do you think of that business with Hadonis and the giants? We’re they in league with each other? Do you think they really wanted to eat him? He clearly can not be trusted and has some… disturbing interests… This whole place feels like a trap…”
Rask pauses.
“I have no doubt he sought a powerful treasure here, perhaps even a Tear of Avv, if such a thing truly exists, and I do not doubt our path here… but I am uneasy… something is off…”
After the battle with the 36 bugbears Alexis fixes his hat, dusts off his sleeve and turns to Ethelred.
“Red.”
“A creature passed over the enchanted threshold 8 times. But there were 36 bugbears. How do you figure they did the math?”
Alexis ponders for a moment, working out some possible numbers on his fingers.
“If we hadn’t pushed the hyena-beast through 3 times, would there have been 15 bugbears in here?” Alexis gestures around “If we had pushed the gnoll-monstrosity through one more time would there have been 45 bugbears?”
“And if we walk through the threshold again, what will the number be? One? Nine? 37?”
The Crimson Calling is in the under-level of Nodden-Torr. The summoned hyena-beast has been used as a magical testing creature on the magicked door and the group is debating what to do with it. Ca’armine is advising Rask kill it honorably.
Alexis catches Gustav’s eye and draws one finger quick across his throat—clean, like you’d do for a lame horse. Then he shrugs.
After Rask takes a few scratches putting the thing down, Alexis glances back at Gustav and shakes his head, palms up. What did we expect?
Alexis dreams of being in a vast, crumbling library beneath the earth. The shelves stretch into darkness filled with books bound in skin and ash. In the silence, a voice whispers from a pulsing tone with a crackled black cover. He reads it. The runes speak out that this is the truth of the crone. Alexis opens it only to find his own handwriting, cataloging secrets yet not yet learned. As he reads it, the ink bleeds from the page and forms the face of Avv. But her features seem to be rotting in front of him. Something is wrong. Alexis gets the feeling that he has abandoned something. The voice of the crone distorts. Bandages begin wrapping around Alexis’ face, blinding him. He now feels like he’s being dragged through the aisles by spectral librarians, chanting, “She’s corrupted and so are you.”
Alexis awakes with dried blood on his nose and a sentence in his mind “Beware the king, his tomb is empty, for he had made his pact.”
The first day after the group has stayed in the Monastery of the Eagles and the group went to get food for the expedition into Mount Llanos Gustav brings Ethelred some mushrooms back as well.
“Hey Red. What are the mushrooms for? The don’t look edible.”
After tending to the horses on the groups’ first return to the to top of the stairwell, Rask approaches the rest of the group:
“This,” he gestures all around them, “what… I’m not even sure where to start…”
“Hadonis… those giants… this… that five-eyed thing…” he gestures downward, and looks to Alexis, Ethelred and Gustav.
“You’ve explored dwarven ruins before, right? How are they different or the same? Were they this infested with magic? What do you make of all this? Anything Ca’armine and I should know?”
Rask makes the same prayer to Raiden before his goes to sleep, before he eats, and before and after he does his morning exercises:
Praise Raiden, The Great Protector, Raiden Shields us from our Foes,
We stand before Him, weak and vulnerable. Raiden will shield us from the blows.
Praise Raiden, Raised by Anashar, blessed with Glory, Resolute and Strong
I wield my sword to help the lowly as we make our way along!
The Light of Raiden shine upon Us, as it shines upon me and all of Aegir
Let it shine on me, and through me, let the Light purge the taint of my sorry soul.
Praise Raiden, The Great Protector, Raiden Shields us from our Foes,
We stand before Him, made strong by Raiden. None to save them from our blows.
Praise Raiden, Raised by Anashar, blessed with Glory Resolute and Strong
I wield my sword to help the lowly as we make our way along!
Praise Raiden.
Rask tends to the horses and helps set up camp in the calm grove, free from the unnaturally cold mist. The cherry tree in bloom, soft grass and moss underneath it is inviting. Rask finishes unsaddling and brushing down the horses and begins to set up his own camp. It is safe here, calm, the owl, the white wolf, the hawk, all at ease.
Rask takes off his pack and sword belt and a sits on the grass beneath the cherry tree, amid the blossoms on the ground. He focuses on his breath at first, pausing between exhale and inhale. He turns his mind to Raiden, the protector. There is a connection between Raiden and the land. He can feel it. His own tattoos, Runes of Raiden, described to him by Mage Eye as the Raw Power of Aegir. It is strong in Gustav, and part of Ca’armine’s connection too.
The feeling of gentle southern breeze brushes over Rask, the thought of an early fall day, warm and sunny, ‘Raiden’s Summer!’ Rask insisting to Brude and Yon, who called it ‘Zephrus’ Goodbye.’ Thater, so clam and peaceful in the afternoon light.
Children singing songs about Raiden… farm animals, gentle and kind… farm and village dogs, sweet and protective…
The clarity and mercy of every strike in his recent battle, the Gift of Raiden’s Mercy flowing through him…
Rask’s eyes are open, focused gently at nothing, a middle distance, his mind at peace, his vision taking in the garden in general and in detail. A cherry blossom floats to the ground, wafting through his field of vision. The thought of a lesson, from his mother perhaps, perhaps a chaplain… the sleeping goddess… cherry trees, the white hawk… kindly defense, the sword unstained… Tai-Lynne…
Alexis approaches the white wolf, it growls at him, and moves away as Alexis slowly continues his approach. Alexis backs off.
Rasks stands slowly and deliberately. He unpacks his bedroll and removes his armor, taking great care in each movement. When his camp his set, he returns to meditating under the cherry tree, his back and chest bare, the top two thirds of the Iron Tree runic tattoo visible.
Rask’s eyes are open, focused gentle at nothing, a middle distance, his mind at peace, his vision taking in the garden in general and in detail. A cherry blossom floats to the ground, wafting through his field of vision.
Gustav’s Crow and the owl greet each other and begin to play some sort of game of tag or follow the leader.
Rask breathing settles into an easy rhythm, his mind wanders through peaceful memories, visualizing defensive and non-lethal combat forms, children playing a fighting, a peaceful wind wafting through white tree blossoms, a hawk soaring in white clouds, cherry trees in full bloom with petals perfect beyond belief, gentle bees buzzing in the boughs, tree branches bent under the load of pale flowers, the breeze as ceaseless as the peaks of the mountains are lofty, Brude and Myrsky young and laughing in the sunshine, families working the land on warm spring days, preparing the soil, sowing the seeds, tending to calves and foals, gathering wax and honey from the hives, playing with puppies… peace like Rask has not known in a very long time.
A harsh black rage interrupts Rask’s calm with a silent howl. Rask is jarred to a specific awareness. Alexis and Ethelred are talking. Something about cooking and gardening. The rage is quiet.
Rask sighs, and returns to measured, controlled breathing, pausing between each inhale and each exhale. His mind quickly returns to its peace, families harvesting in the warm fall, breezes wafting gently, non-lethal combat forms, playing with dogs, milking gentle mama goats…
Again! Another harsh black rage and a silent howl. Ethelred is looking at some of the plants in the grove, they are withered and dead. Alexis removes a necklace and tries to clean up the withered plants.
Another wave of rage. As Alexis attempts to clean, black waves of wrath flow over Rask. The white wolf whines.
Alexis stops and begins to make camp at the edge of the garden. The wolf whines. Rask asks Gus if he can calm the wolf, and the group sets watches for the night.
Before laying down to sleep, Rask sits once more beneath the cherry tree and returns again to measured, controlled breathing. His mind returns to its peace, families sharing a meal in a warm house in the winter, a cold morning, warm breath wafting gently away from young boys excited to explore the freshly fallen snow, a white panther fearlessly leaping from ice cover rock to ice covered rock with joyful focus, defensive combat forms, playing with dogs, tending to the farm animals in their stalls, making candles in a warm work-room… Kark Bergthison’s songs of Raiden, the protector of humanity, sung at the hearth in the Worn Stone Tavern…
Rask’s breathing settles into a natural rhythm. His mind wanders to children playing at fighting… Yon and Sten… to defensive combat forms… to non-lethal combat forms… Raiden… the Protector.
“Praise Raiden” Rask intones and moves to take his rest in the Garden of TyLin, his first truly peaceful rest in far, far too long.
Morning in camp. Ca’armine finishes his watch, and wakes Alexis, who as usual had taken the first watch. “Camp is secure, nothing to report overnight. If you’re awake, I’m going to retire to pray.” Alexis rubs his eyes, and nods, pushing up on one elbow. Once Alexis is up, he’s up– and the two have made this exchange many times over the months they have been together. Ca’armine moves off from the group, and finds a tree to sit beneath.
“Raiden, brother, protector, hear my prayer!” He starts, as he always does, with his silver shield in his two hands. He thanks Raiden for protection and guidance, and asks that Raiden continue to bring these gifts to him and to his team.
He becomes distracted, though, as he calls the faces of his comrades into his vision. Alexis asked to be taught the ways of Raiden yesterday! Ca’armine thanks Raiden for the opportunity and asks for the gift of wisdom in this matter. Forming a congregation, was not the path he foresaw for himself, when he got the call to go south and find the Crimson Calling. But in the midst of battle, something was changing with the spirit of his team. Rask is depending on Ca’armine, for spiritual guidance and more. Gustav is offering his trust, and asking Ca’armine to consider the burden on his soul, of accepting magic from gods other than Raiden. Ethelred is not talking much about religion, it’s true, but he did join in the cause of helping Rask by crafting a holy symbol of Raiden for Rask to hold. And now Alexis the Av worshipper, the one who calls on Av’s power for spell work, is showing interest in Raiden worship and asking Ca’armine to be the guide. Ca’armine feels giddy as he thinks about the team coalescing, not only in purpose, but also, in inspiration. Raiden be praised!
He feels things shifting in this group. Only a week ago, he was still nursing a plan to leave the group and head north and east, to the region of Fjellsby where he felt sure, he would find his opportunity to thwart the Dark Hand’s evil plans. He did not feel he could push Alexis any harder than he already was, to take that path, and Alexis was still clearly ruminating on unfinished business in Southron. He wondered if, in that moment, Rask would join him. But more he wondered if, without the rest of the team, he could survive long at all, in his quest to find Bandesingh.
But Alexis took the path to the North East without any further discussion, and the team had all followed along. In that moment, Ca’armine realizes, he finally felt he had found his place on the team.
“Raiden, protect us! Protect humanity from harm. Protect us from the evil workings of our foe!” In his mind’s eye he sees, but vaguely, a powerful and evil magical working, and imagines Bandesingh looking on in satisfaction. He envisions himself interposing his body, sacrificing his life to stop the evil from gaining sway in this plane. Then he tries to imagine having his whole team with him, resisting that magic. Stronger, yes. So much stronger.
Strong enough?
“Raiden hear my prayer! Help me to guide my team in spirit, so that we can, together, find the foe and cancel his evil plans. Help me to bring them together as comrades, as soldiers in your army, to defeat the foul foe. Help me raise up their souls in your light, so that we can do your good work and save humanity!”
In his mind’s eye, he sees Alexis, pointing out across a plain, and sees Rask, blade held high, charge past in the direction he’s led. He sees Gustav moving out in a flanking maneuver. Red, circling around the other way. He himself, following behind Rask, holy shield in one hand, sword in the other. The team, charging into battle, to the end, together.
“Raiden please let it be so!”